Pride! It is everywhere today. The American culture tells us over and over to be proud, proud of the truth that you have defined for yourself. However, such a worldview leaves no room for God, for once we recognize God’s existence and understand his revelation to us we realize that we are no longer the center of the universe: we are no longer the one who decides truth. Rather, we must submit to him who is Truth. That transition can be hard. The Gospel holds the key to successfully making this transition. The key is to be humble not prideful.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18 : 9-14
Scriptural Analysis
Jesus continues his instruction on prayer by telling another parable with prayer as its theme. The parable is directed at some who are sure of their own righteousness but don’t understand the danger in such trust, “Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered; but in the iniquity that he has committed he shall die.” (Ezekiel 33:13) The Greek word used here for trust, peithō, means trusting in themselves: basically placing their salvation in their hands and not God’s.
There are two characters in the parable. The Pharisee represents such a self righteous individual: confident in himself and despising everyone else. The other character in the story is a Tax Collector. Thus this parable compares two people: a format we have seen in Luke 7:41 as well as 15:11. Both characters have gone up to the temple to pray indicating this is likely a time of public prayer that was part of both the morning and evening sacrifices when people would gather to pray.
The Pharisee assumed his usual posture of standing to pray. Notice though how his prayer is far less about God and more about himself. In his self righteousness he considers the rest of humanity, which is everyone else including the tax collector, to be unrighteous. The Pharisee’s practice of his religious customs is perfect: fasting twice a week, tithing on all he gets. However, these practices have become a source of pride for himself. It has blinded him to more important things such as love of his neighbor.
The Tax Collector also stood to pray but his prayer was much more humble in nature. First, he maintained distance between himself and the temple courts. He did not even raise his eyes out of his own shame. He beat his breast which is an indication of his own sorrow, “And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.” (Luke 23:48) These gestures are evidence of the Tax Collector’s repentance. He also acknowledges that he is who the Pharisee said he was, a sinner, and he begs God to be merciful to him. The Greek word uses her for merciful is hilaskomai and is only found one other place in the New Testament (Hebrews 2:17). It means to make atonement for one’s sins fitting the temple setting and the time of daily sacrifice. Notice how also in the Tax Collector’s prayer he only makes reference to himself. He is not comparing himself with anyone else.
Jesus tells the crowd that the tax Collector is the one who is righteous in the eyes of God. He then extends this parable to everyone. Jesus points out how the humble will be the one’s exalted by God. St. Basil the Great summarizes this point, “Never place yourself above anyone, not even great sinners. Humility often saves a sinner who has committed many terrible transgressions.” (On Humility)
Daily Application
Humility! These readings can be summed up in that single word, humility. The Pharisee was prideful, not humble, where as the Tax collector was humble. That is why the Tax Collector was righteous in the eyes of God and the Pharisee was not.
The struggle with pride goes back to the very beginning, to the Garden of Eden. The original sin of Adam and Eve was pride. We don’t need to listen to God: to be free we need to be able to do as we please. They claimed the right to decide for themselves good and evil instead of listening to God. From then on pride has been the source of every other human sin.
We live in a world that is all about pride. From television, to music, to advertising the message is clear: to be truly free one needs to decide for themselves who they want to be, what they want to do, recognizing their own truth unchecked by any objective compass and then to be proud of what they have decided. There is belief that if I can just do what I want to do, the way I want to do it, then I will find happiness. My unhappiness stems from my inability to do it my way, from constraints placed upon me by others or by God. That mass acceptance of that world view is the work of the evil one and it is exactly what he did when he rebelled against God.
The challenge with this world view is that it neglects one of the most fundamental truths so beautifully expressed by St. Augustine in the year 400 in his Confessions, “For Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee Lord.” No matter how much humanity tries to run from God, we can’t escape the fact that we were made for him. This longing and desire for God is written on every human heart. That is why only in God will we ever find true happiness and peace. We can try and rebel against that all we want but that rebellion will only lead to unhappiness.
However, in order to acknowledge that truth expresses by St. Augustine one has to first humble themselves. They have to accept the revelation of God, the revelation that their hearts are longing for. The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays out how God’s revelation and our response to that revelation works:
Through revelation, “the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company.”The adequate response to this invitation is faith. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience of faith”. CCC 142-143
God has revealed himself to us through Moses and the Prophets and in the most complete way through Jesus Christ. Our response to that revelation, that invitation to know God, is faith. Faith requires humility for without it we cannot submit our intellect and our will to God. Without it, we will be just like Adam and Eve: proudly rebelling against God.
Our model of perfect humility and faith is Mary. She submitted her intellect and will completely and perfectly to the will of God, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) She is waiting and wanting to help each of us to the same. If you are struggling with pride, finding it hard to be humble, turn to mom and ask for her intercession. Ask Mary to help you learn how to humble yourself. True and lasting peace and happiness can only be found in Mary’s son, in Jesus. It is only found when we are humble not prideful.
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